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8-A Council approved the response to the Grand Jury findings and recommendations, and submit the response to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court for the annual detention report.

8-B Resolution 19-3726 creating the unrepresented part-time classifications of Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief (temporary coverage), Volunteer Fire Battalion Chief and Volunteer Fire Engineer and adopting job descriptions for these positions was approved.

8-C City Council approved amending Resolution No. 14-3439 to add the part-time positions of Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief (Temporary Coverage), Volunteer Fire Battalion Chief, and Volunteer Fire Engineer, as well as the daily rate per 24-hour shift for these positions. The daily rate changes set forth in Salary Schedule “T” will be retroactively effective to July 1, 2019.

8-D That the City Council adopt Resolution 19-3724 Approving and Adopting the City of Fillmore’s Revised Publicly Available Pay Schedule to reflect the July 1, 2019, Fire Department volunteer staff additions and pay rate changes.

8-E It was approved that City Council members serve as official representatives of the City to various intergovernmental agencies. The League of California Cities allows each Member City to vote at the Annual Business Meeting. Council members, Mayor Diane McCall, Mark Austin, and Tim Holmgren were appointed.

8-F The following was approved: that the City Council: 1. Find that this action is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines; and 2. Approve the introduction and first reading of Ordinance No. 913 amending the Fillmore Municipal Code to allow covenants for easements.

8-G The City Council, as the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency Directors, approved the updated month to month leases for the Theatre Storefront properties at 336 and 338 B Central Avenue, Fillmore, California.

8-H It was approved, that the City Council, as the Successor Agency Board of Directors: 1. Approve the attached First Amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement for Successor Agency property located at 510 Santa Clara Street; and 2. Direct staff to submit the First Amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement to the County Oversight Board for approval and authorize the Agency’s Chair to execute the agreement after Oversight Board approval.

8-I City Council, as the Successor Agency Board of Directors: 1. Approved the attached First Amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement for Successor Agency property located at 510 Santa Clara Street; and 2. Direct staff to submit the First Amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement to the County Oversight Board for approval and authorized the Agency’s Chair to execute the agreement after Oversight Board approval.

Courtesy Jan Lee

Recently, the Fillmore Lion’s Club took the time to honor members of their local Club. Member Jaclyn Ibarra earned the “Lion of the Year” which is given to the Fillmore member who has done the most for the local community. Ms. Ibarra has been active in almost all the community activities this year. Her enthusiasm and good nature is contagious!

The second award given was for service above and beyond was Eddi Barajas, current president of Fillmore Lion’s Club. Mr. Barajas received the “Don Snyder Award.” One of the Lion’s Club’s community projects is the Youth Speaker contest; Mr. Barajas spent hours and hours working to coordinate this contest on top of the time he spent as Club President. The young speakers and local members appreciate his outstanding efforts.

The third awarded was to Stephen McKeown who earned the “Lifetime Achievement Award.” Like the other two recipients, Mr. McKeown stays busy working on projects that help the Fillmore community. Over many years, he has been available to work toward any and all Lion’s Club projects. Fillmore residents have benefitted greatly by the efforts of these three dedicated people. When you see them around town, congratulate them and thank them for their service. The awards were presented by Lion’s District Representatives Margaret and Bill Dunlevy.

On Thursday morning, July 4th a 6.4 earthquake, and Friday night, July 5th a 7.1 earthquake struck in the Searles Valley near Ridgecrest, California. The quakes were felt throughout Fillmore and Ventura County areas. In Fillmore approximately 887 homes went without power after the 7.1 quake on Friday night, and was restored after 10 p.m. Some docks in the Channel Islands Harbor area were damaged. For Up To Date Earthquake Information go to: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

Bob Crum

Kaboom! Another July 4th has come and gone, but not without consternation. Rest assured it has nothing to do with patriotism. I'm as patriotic as any red, white and blue-blooded American. Even just as patriotic as when I wore a U.S. Air Force uniform.

Fond memories of the 4th take me back to yesteryear when as Parks & Rec director for a small Florida town, I produced the annual fireworks display lock, stock and boom! With a $2.5K budget, I selected the aerial explosions and choreographed the display ignited with the help of the volunteer fire department. I also included a ground display complete with rousing marching music. Ah, those were the days.

So why the consternation? There were no illegal fireworks fired off by residents back then like here in Fillmore. While I was setting up to photograph this year's fireworks display, illegal fireworks enveloped me. So many were fired off at any given moment that I was being overwhelmed by the resultant smoke. Being asthmatic, it was not pleasant! But I digress.

Most of my readers know that I've been photographing the Fillmore fireworks display for several years. From the years of practice, you'd think I have the procedure wired. Yes, I know the photographic routines, but I wasn't ready for what happened this year.

There are two basic methods for photographing fireworks with digital dSLR or mirrorless cameras. One way is to set ISO at 100, or 200 if that's the lowest setting. Put the lens on manual focus with focus set at 'infinity,' aperture at f/8 or f/11. The only remaining criterion is the shutter speed. A typical setting is between two and four seconds.

I prefer a more flexible option. For this, as well as the above method, a tripod is mandatory. I secure the camera on a tripod ball head and program it: ISO @100, aperture usually at f/8 but instead of selecting a shutter speed, I connect a remote shutter release to the camera and put the camera in "bulb" mode. Bulb mode allows me to make a photo for as long as the shutter is open. As the first couple of aerial bombs are fired, I make a test shot to check composition. Another test shot for relative exposure and adjust as needed. This procedure eliminates showtime guesswork and allows me to capture the whole duration of the aerial explosion. The bulb mode also enables me to make multiple exposures, two aerial explosions in one frame.

The conspiracy? After positioning the camera and locking it down on the ball head, I was surprised to see so many fireworks rise and veer off to the left, out of view of my lens! I don't recall this happening in years past. Note that as I hold the remote shutter release button, I can't see what the camera sees. If the aerial bomb veers off one direction or the other, I can't track it. I quickly learned that if I saw it begin to veer off to the left in time, I'd unlock the ball head to readjust the camera. But that's guesswork. It didn't work too well. C'est la vie.

Did you notice the photo of the week data? Ten-second exposure at an aperture of f/18 is correct. It's a multiple exposure incorporating three fireworks bursts in one frame. I had to stop down the lens quickly otherwise the 10-second duration would result in a severely overexposed image. It pays to be flexible, nimble, and very adventurous. Happy photoing.

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

This police booking mug from the Los Angeles Police department shows former Catholic priest Carlos Rene Rodriguez, 46, after he was arrested at his home in the City of Commerce, Calif., Wednesday Sept. 25, 2002. (AP Photo/Orange County Sheriffs Department)

A former Catholic priest removed from ministry and convicted of molestation was reportedly presiding at home Masses in Fillmore, according to a May 30 alert from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The notice from the archdiocese’s Vicar for Clergy Office to priests, deacons and parish life directors warns that Carlos Rene Rodriguez has no permission to act as a Roman Catholic priest. It said parishioners reported Rodriguez was celebrating Masses held at residences in Fillmore and surrounding areas.

Archdiocese officials said Rodriguez was removed from ministry in 1987 after being accused of abusing a teenager at St. Vincent Church in Los Angeles when he was part of the Vincentian religious order. After treatment and a return to limited ministry at a Santa Barbara retreat center, he left the religious order in 1993 ending his authority to serve as a priest in the archdiocese.

Archdiocese officials said he was laicized — removed from the priesthood — in 1998. The archdiocese includes Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and is the largest in the nation.

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of molestation from 1988 to 1993 — beginning after Rodriguez was sent to the retreat center — involving brothers from Santa Paula. He was incarcerated in 2004 and released in 2008, according to archdiocese officials in a written statement.

Archdiocese officials also said Rodriguez presented himself as a priest in 2016, using the name of Father Carlos Ramirez at a church not affiliated with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The May notice from the Vicar for Clergy Office said he was removed from ministering at the church.

Courtesy of California Catholic Daily, https://cal-catholic.com/la-archdiocese-warns-of-renegade-priest/

City of Fillmore

The City of Fillmore would like everybody to have a safe 4th of July. As a reminder Ordinance 18-893 was passed by Fillmore City Council on September 11, 2018 to amend Fillmore Municipal Code Chapter 15.39. The amendment to the fireworks ordinance makes a property owner, tenant, or other person responsible for real property strictly liable for the use of illegal fireworks on that property. As a result, this ordinance allows for the citing of the homeowner, tenant, or the person deemed to be in control of the property where a firework violation occur. The enforcement action could be triggered by a deputy’s observation or by information obtained from the public. This can result in a $1,000 penalty and/or jail time.